Slovak central bank chief Kazimir should not get another term, prime minister says

(Reuters) - Slovak central bank governor and European Central Bank policymaker Peter Kazimir is not the right candidate to get another six-year term and the country's main ruling party will not back him, Prime Minister Robert Fico said.

Kazimir was finance minister for Fico's SMER-SSD party in 2012-2019 but was close to Peter Pellegrini, who led a group that split away to form a new party called Hlas-SD in 2020.

The two parties came together to form a government in 2023, but Fico has been at odds with Kazimir due to the party split.

Kazimir, who's term as central bank governor expired on Sunday, was sentenced on Thursday to a 200,000 euro ($226,940) fine for bribery. The central bank chief, who has denied wrongdoing, has rejected the verdict and said he would appeal to a higher court.

Fico, speaking at a news conference on Sunday, said he had labelled Kazimir as a "political traitor" because of his disloyalty to the SMER-SSD party not because of his conviction in the bribery case.

Fico said he respected the right of coalition partner Hlas-SD to nominate the governor, under their coalition agreements.

"I think that we have the right as a party (SMER-SSD) that will be important in the vote, to say if this person suits it or not," Fico said.

"And we have a number of principal reasons that make us say that Peter Kazimir is not the right candidate for NBS governor. Hlas-SD must come up with someone else," he said.

Slovak central bank chiefs are nominated by the government, approved by parliament and appointed by the president.

Fico has criticised the judge over the Kazimir bribery ruling. The court has declined to comment.

Under Slovak law, Kazimir can remain a governor unless there is a final conviction of a crime. He also stays in his post past the end of his term until a new governor is appointed.

Kazimir has not said publicly if he was seeking a second term.

($1 = 0.8813 euros)

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka. Editing by Jane Merriman)